Bachelor on the Cheap

By Mike Thayer

What would you rather have, a grilled hot dog or one that's been heated up in a frying pan?  Would you rather have a breast of chicken grilled, or oven baked?  I don't know about you, but I'll choose the grilled variety every time just based on flavor, but a bonus is, most grilled versions of meats are leaner too. 

Grilling lends itself to a leaner diet, just by the method of cooking.  Think about it, fats come off the meats and drip down into the coals, making for a leaner bite vs. a meat that's fried or baked in an oven.  Both of the latter two methods of cooking typically means the meat is sitting in a hot pan of oils and/or meat fats.   Yes, grilled beats even oven baked because most recipes for the oven call for the addition of oils and/or starches (carbs) to add flavor and keep them moist and the meats bathe, er, cook in those oils and/or starches.

Here's an example:  You can throw an all beef hot dog on the grill, as is, get that great grilled flavor - 150 calories.  Throw an all beef hot dog in the frying pan with a teaspoon of olive oil and add 40 calories to that to hot dog total and now you're eating 190 calories.  Never mind that the fried version doesn't taste as good.  If you're into counting calories, that's significant, especially over the long term, 30 calories here, 40 calories there....  It adds up.   Heck, it adds up in just one meal....  If you eat two grilled hot dogs - 300 calories.  If you eat two fried hot dogs - 380 calories.

Now regular readers know that counting calories isn't really done in the Carb-Check Diet, so let me give you another example in how grilling lends itself to a leaner diet.   A six ounce grilled chicken breast with some dry rub and a kiss of olive oil is about 280 calories, no carbs and it's delicious!  A six ounce chicken breast done in the oven is about 250 calories, but then, how do you make it taste good?  Add a little olive oil and tomato sauce?   Add another 80 calories and 8 grams in carbs.  How about rolling it in bread crumbs and oven 'frying' it?  Add another 120 calories and a whopping 21 grams in carbs!

And here's an even better measure in how grilling goes hand in hand with the Carb-Check Diet.....  Eating two deliciously seasoned grilled cheeseburger patties with no bun is better in terms of diet, enjoying the food and STICKING to the diet, than eating a fried burger on a bun with a side of fries.  Eating a tantalizing grilled chicken breast is better than eating oven 'fried' chicken tenders.  Eating a mouth-watering grilled steak is better than eating baked steak smothered in a mushroom gravy and served on a bed of noodles to make it taste good.  It's those carbs that kill you, especially in foods that are breaded and fried, heck, as you can read, even oven fried!

Grilled meats are typically leaner and they have a flavor advantage created by the smoke (no calories, no carbs) and grilled meats can also save you time in future meals, grill a bunch to create some great leftovers!  

Eat leaner, eat grilled and save money by not buying bad carbs to boot.